I'm sure you've heard by now...THE HUNGER GAMES successfully took aim at the box-office this past weekend, culling an astounding $152.5 million over three days. With two more films in the series to come, contending studios are now scrambling to find the next big thing. Cue the upcoming Hollywood auction for Lissa Prices' dystopic sci-fi novel STARTERS...

According to THR, ICM is now shopping book and script rights for STARTERS - a dystopic sci-fi novel new to shelves - around town to the highest bidder. The book drew instant comparisons to THE HUNGER GAMES upon release, being a young adult novel with mature appeal.

Here's how the trade describes the project:

Starters is set in a dystopian United States torn apart by a war, and it features a female protagonist who is willing to sacrifice everything to save her little brother. And like Hunger Games, it’s a YA book that appeals to adults.

A biological attack kills off anyone who wasn’t vaccinated, leaving only the young and elderly alive (called Starters and Enders, respectively). The situation is so bad that Mexico builds a wall to keep Americans out, and the young are left mostly to fend for themselves. In order to escape her predicament and help her brother, 16-year old Callie enlists in an organization that allows the elderly to “rent” the bodies of the young, with the youngsters having no memory of what transpires during the body-takeover as the Enders enjoy the vitality of youth. The protagonist discovers a nefarious secret behind the renting.

Enders, ay? Wonder how Summit feels about that, seeing how they're adapting ENDER'S GAME at the moment. Maybe they end up jumping in and making the movie themselves. Could happen right?

Have you read STARTERS? Are the comparisons legit?

Jen Lawrence!

Extra Tidbit:

Price also wrote the script adaptation of STARTERS, as Suzanne Collins did for THE HUNGER GAMES.